God's Fierce Anger by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=1186

God's Fierce Anger

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

A great disservice has been committed against the present generation of Americans. An inaccurate picture of the character and nature of God has been created. But only God’s Word can provide us with a balanced, healthy comprehension of God’s personal attributes. Only the Bible can bestow upon us the appropriate interplay between the love and mercy of God, as well as the wrath and anger of God. Many people today have failed to assess properly the reality of God’s wrath. They have substituted emotion and human feelings for truth and the clear statements of God.
A general attitude of permissiveness, laxity, and undiscriminating tolerance has blanketed American society. Christians comfortably relax in the presence of impenitent sin and open defiance of the laws of God—using the refrain that, after all, “nobody’s perfect.” Christians demonstrate a willingness to toy with unscriptural innovation—after all, “God wants us to be happy and to express ourselves.” Church members entertain fellowship with denominationalism and false religion—after all, “it’s sincerity that counts,” not whether you conform to the objective, absolute will of God. Churches lose their sense of alarm and urgency in providing wayward church members and the unevangelized with the divine antidote to sin and their lost condition.
Out of this context, voices have arisen that focus almost exclusively upon the love of God. Emphasis is repeatedly placed upon God’s compassion, mercy, and grace—to the neglect of other attributes of God. While one never can emphasize God’s love enough, one can be guilty of misrepresenting the true nature of that love. One can so present the love of God that the equally biblical doctrine of God’s wrath makes no sense, and eventually fades into irrelevance.

THE LOVE OF GOD

Many Bible passages detail the amazing love of God. Consider the following from the New Testament:

“Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (Matthew 6:30,32).
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16).
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8).
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” I John 3:16 says: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (Romans 8:32).
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).
“[T]he kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared” (Titus 3:4).

Even in the Old Testament, God’s amazing love is expressed repeatedly:

“And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin’ ” (Exodus 34:6-7).
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).
“ ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool’ ” (Isaiah 1:18).
“I had great bitterness; but You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back” (Isaiah 38:17).
“I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me; for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22).
“He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

Of course, the Bible contains many more similar allusions. These few serve to summarize the basic nature of the incredible love of God. God loves every single human being. He wants every single person to obey Him so that He can usher every person into eternity in His presence. “God…is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

THE WRATH OF GOD

But, having noted the reality of the wonderful love of God for all people, the reader is urged to integrate and harmonize this attribute of God with what the Scriptures teach about God’s wrath. Numerous passages in both the Old and New Testaments depict God as a God Who executes His wrath against people. Notice the following from the Old Testament:

“For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me” (Exodus 20:5).
“[B]y no means clearing the guilty” (Exodus 34:7).
“[Lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 6:15).
“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe” (Deuteronomy 10:17).
“Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book. And the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 29:27-28).
“Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ ” (Deuteronomy 31:17).

Moving to the New Testament, notice the following verses:

“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” (Luke 12:4-5).
“[S]ince it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

God struck dead two Christians, a husband and wife, in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 5:1-11). The writer of Hebrews provided this sober warning:

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who rejected Moses’ law died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God under foot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:26-31).

He then added: “For our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). Given today’s religious climate, many people do not believe that such verses exist in the Bible. Or they ignore them or insist that they do not apply today. What a tragic mistake! The Bible is replete with such references to the wrath and justice of God, and it is imperative that we accept them and respond accordingly.
Consider the example of the great Judean king, Hezekiah. He endeavored to bring the nation back into harmony with God’s written revelation. Why? “...that His fierce wrath may turn away from us.” That expression is used three times in the context (2 Chronicles 29:10; 30:8; 32:26). King Josiah found himself in a similar circumstance. When he realized the extent to which the nation had departed from God’s will, he tore his robes and declared: “[G]reat is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book” (2 Chronicles 34:21).
People in our day go merrily on their way, out of harmony with God’s written Word, consoling themselves with a false view of God’s love. They are like Jeremiah’s contemporaries, who tried to heal the hurt of the people “slightly.” “Slightly” meant they did not consider their neglect of God’s will to be all that serious. They said, “Peace, Peace” when there was no peace as long as they were out of harmony with the Scriptures (Jeremiah 6:14).
The time has come to approach the situation the way the prophets of God did. Read the Old Testament books written by the prophets—like Amos, Joel, and Habakkuk. As they did, we need to warn people today about the reality of God’s wrath and its inevitable occurrence. One day, all people will know what God’s wrath is. Listen again to the words of Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9: “[T]he Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who know not God, and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”
It is absolutely imperative that we live our lives everyday with a correct understanding of both the love of God and the wrath of God. The same God Who speaks of the availability of an eternal home of bliss called heaven is the same God Who will provide an eternal place of conscious pain called hell. Consider closely Paul’s summary given to Christians in Rome, warning them of the danger of losing their salvation: “Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off ” (Romans 11:22).
Did you know that God cannot save everybody? “But I thought God can do anything?” Not true! The Bible certainly represents God as omnipotent—all-powerful (Romans 1:20; Ephesians 1:19). But we misunderstand the power of God if we think He somehow is going to gloss over people’s rejection of His words and save everyone. God simply cannot do that and still be God! God is powerless to save people who do not want to be saved. He cannot save people who refuse to take advantage of the antidote to sin that He has provided. He is incapable of saving those who reject the one and only means by which they can be forgiven of sin.
God made provision for human sin by sending His Son to die in place of us. Only the sacrifice of Christ had the atoning power to pay for our sin. But the very nature of the Universe is such that God gave us free moral agency. He cannot interfere with our own wills and coerce us to be saved. We must make the choice. We are responsible for all of our choices. If we wish to take advantage of the free gift of salvation available in Christ, we must freely choose to believe, to repent of our sins, to confess Jesus to be divine, and to be immersed in water for the forgiveness of our sins. Passage after passage in the New Testament indicates that this is the divine plan of salvation for human beings. Hear the Gospel message of salvation and choose to believe (Romans 10:17). Change your mind about your past sinful conduct (Acts 17:30). Confess with your mouth that Jesus is the Son of God (Romans 10:9-10). Then allow someone to baptize you, that is, immerse you in water with the understanding that in that action, the blood of Jesus will wash away your sins by the grace of God (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21).
If you deliberately reject these simple instructions on how to become a Christian, then you will have no one else to blame in eternity when you experience the wrath and punishment of God. When one becomes a Christian, then a new life commences. Now that person will pour over the Scriptures in order to learn how to live the Christian life. He or she will find out how God wants to be worshipped. “You mean, I can’t just worship God spontaneously out of my own inclinations?” Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
A person also will determine which church Christ endorses, and refrain from associating with churches spawned by mere men. “You mean one church is not as good as another?” That’s correct. Jesus did not build a multiplicity of churches. He built only one (Ephesians 4:4; 1 Corinthians 12:20). He declared: “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18).
A fitting summary regarding the nature of God and how all people must make preparation now for eternity is found in 2 Corinthians 5:10-11: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”

Confessed Conjectures and Contradictions of Paleoartists by Eric Lyons, M.Min.

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=9&article=2747

 Confessed Conjectures and Contradictions of Paleoartists

by	Eric Lyons, M.Min.

How do we know what Neandertals really looked like? Is H. floresiensis (i.e., the Hobbit) proof of evolution, or was “the Hobbit” just a small human? Does “Lucy” (Australopithecus afarensis) look more like an ape or a person? What about the dozens of illustrations appearing on magazine covers around the world in any given year, which supposedly illustrate the truth of human evolution? What are the real facts behind the illustrations and models of our alleged ape-like ancestors?
In a recent Science article titled “Bringing Hominins Back to Life,” evolutionist Michael Balter collaborated with various scientists and artists to discuss some of the shaky science of today’s paleontologists and paleoartists. Since no one has ever seen an ape-like human or a human-like ape (they do not exist and never did—Genesis 1; Exodus 20:11), there are no photographs of hairy, bi-pedal, knuckle-dragging, club-carrying “half-and-halfs.” All of the life-like illustrations and reconstructions around the world are based upon interpretations of various fossils. So much of the time, however, “[reconstructions] require lots of decisions that science can’t answer.... The reconstructions allow us to ask the question but not to answer them” (Balter, 2009, 325[5937]:137). According to anthropologist Zeresenay Alemseged, “[A]rtists must track researcher’s latest anatomical interpretations.... But the end product should be seen as an artistic creation” (as quoted in Balter, p. 137, emp. added)—not a scientific one.
Sadly, books, magazines, and museums all over the world are full of faulty artistic creations based on misinterpretations of human and animal fossils. Balter briefly mentioned two examples of these mistakes, albeit he passed them off more as differences than mistakes. First, he noted how, in the early 1900s, French paleontologist Marcellin Boule “concluded that the Neandertal did not walk fully erect and played no part in human ancestry” (Balter, p. 137). What’s more, the early 20th-century artist that Boule enlisted “created a brutish stooped, hairy creature, more ape than human” (p. 137). However, “[r]esearchers now think that Neandertals...were closely related to Homo sapiens and did not look apelike” (p. 137). Thus, rather than focus on animalistic likenesses, “[t]oday’s Neandertal reconstructions tend to emphasize their humanity” (p. 137).
A second example of contradictory interpretations and reconstructions by paleontologists and paleoartists is found on page 138 of Balter’s article. At the bottom left-hand corner are two very different recreations of the head of Homo floresiensis. On the left is a pale, wrinkled, round-faced, round-eyed, small-nosed “Hobbit” with scraggly facial hair and thinning head-hair. On the right is a dark-skinned, tight, chiseled-faced, wide-eyed, big-nosed “Hobbit” with a head full of hair, but with no facial hair. Amazingly, paleoartists made the reconstructions from the same skull...yet they look nothing alike.
Near the end of the article, Balter quoted anthropologist Adrienne Zihlman, who admitted that “[m]ost of what we do is part art and part science” (p. 139, emp. added). Similarly, he acknowledged that “much of the work that human evolution researchers do today is based on conjecture as well as hard science” (p. 139, emp. added). In truth, the “conjecture” and “art” part of evolutionary scientists’ work is the part about evolution, while the “hard science” is that which we can know experimentally or from the laws of nature.
What we can know from “hard science” is that no one has ever observed apes or ape-like creatures evolve into humans. What’s more, such evolution defies a well-known law of science known as the Law of Biogenesis (see Thompson, 1989). “Advanced” mammals never evolved into humans, anymore than fish developed legs and lungs and evolved into amphibians and reptiles over many millions of years. Such conjectures may make for appealing art exhibits, but they will never tell the true story of human origins (Genesis 1-2; Psalm 139:13-16; see Harrub and Thompson, 2003).

REFERENCES

Balter, Michael (2009), “Bringing Hominins Back to Life,” Science, 325[5937]:136-139, July 10.
Harrub, Brad and Bert Thompson (2003), The Truth About Human Origins (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press).
Thompson, Bert (1989), “The Bible and the Laws of Science: The Law of Biogenesis,” [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/2004.

Freedom Without Religion? by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

https://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=7&article=3824

Freedom Without Religion?

by	Dave Miller, Ph.D.

Even in the midst of ominous economic woes, the level of prosperity enjoyed by Americans is unparalleled and unsurpassed in the history of the world. So also is the freedom that Americans enjoy—unsurpassed in the annals of human existence. To what do we owe these tremendous blessings? Are these circumstances coincidental, or merely the result of happenchance? A sizable segment of the American population has come to believe that the religious complexion of the nation has little or nothing to do with America’s freedom and prosperity. But what was the viewpoint of those who orchestrated the American Republic? As they arranged the inner workings of their grand political experiment, and established the framework from which the nation was to function, did they have anything to say about the role of religion as it relates to freedom and prosperity? Indeed, they did.
Declaration signer and physician, Dr. Benjamin Rush, explained the mode of education to be adopted “so as to secure to the state all the advantages to be derived from the proper instruction of youth”:
“[T]he only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in Religion. Without this there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments” (1804, p. 8). The “religion” to which Dr. Rush alluded was the Christian religion. Observe: without Christian virtue/morality, there can be no liberty.
On October 20, 1779, the Continental Congress—an entity that represents a host of the Founders of America—issued a proclamation to the entire nation that contains the quintessential answer to the question: “On what does American freedom depend?” Please read it closely:

Whereas it becomes us humbly to approach the throne of Almighty God, with gratitude and praise for the wonders which his goodness has wrought in conducting our forefathers to this western world; for his protection to them and to their posterity amid difficulties and dangers; for raising us, their children, from deep distress to be numbered among the nations of the earth; ...and above all, that he hath diffused the glorious light of the gospel, whereby, through the merits of our gracious Redeemer, we may become the heirs of his eternal glory: therefore, Resolved, That it be recommended to the several states, to appoint Thursday, the 9^th of December next, to be a day of public and solemn thanksgiving to Almighty God for his mercies, and of prayer for the continuance of his favor and protection to these United States; ...that he would grant to his church the plentiful effusions of divine grace, and pour out his holy spirit on all ministers of the gospel; that he would bless and prosper the means of education, and spread the light of Christian knowledge through the remotest corners of the earth; ...that he would in mercy look down upon us, pardon our sins and receive us into his favor, and finally, that he would establish the independence of these United States upon the basis of religion and virtue, and support and protect them in the enjoyment of peace, liberty and safety as long as the sun and moon shall endure, until time shall be no more. Done in Congress, the 20^th day of October, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine, and in the 4^th year of the independence of the United States of America.

Samuel Huntington, President.

Attest, Charles Thomson, Secretary (Journals of..., 1904-1937, 15:1191-1193, emp. added).

There you have it—if you can accept it. The Founders of America—the very ones who initiated the incredible freedom that characterizes our country and for which she is renowned—maintained that that freedom depends on citizen commitment to the Christian religion. So does spiritual freedom. As Jesus Himself explained: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:31-32,36).

REFERENCES

Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789 (1904-1937), ed. Worthington C. Ford, et al. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office), Library of Congress, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwjc.html.
Rush, Benjamin (1804), Essays, Literary, Moral, and Philosophical (Philadelphia, PA: Thomas and William Bradford), http://books.google.com/books?id=xtUKAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=benjamin+rush&cd=2#v=onepage&q&f=false.

From Jim McGuiggan... Was God once a legalist? (2)

Was God once a legalist? (2)

The notion that God ever offered life with him to anyone on the basis of their moral worth or the quantity or quality of their obedience is manifestly untrue. Life with God begins and ends with grace. And God never said anything to suggest the contrary! Adam and Eve didn't earn their life with God by obedience or moral worth. God gifted them with life in relationship with himself and asked them to live out the character of that life and relationship. Not even Jesus earned his life with God. His whole earthly life was lived in holy, sinless response to God's prior gracious gift.
That being the case, when we come to God's call and promise in Leviticus 18:5 we're not to understand the text as legalism spelled out. He was offering life. He wasn't offering life by virtue of "doing" or what is called "law keeping".
"You shall therefore keep my statutes and my ordinances, by doing which a man shall live: I am the Lord." (Leviticus 18:5)
This verse is part of the whole narrative and experience of Israel with Yahweh. The Lord made it clear to them that he entered into a covenant with them because he loved them and their fathers and was keeping his promise to their fathers (Deuteronomy 7:8; 8:18; 9:4-6). He made it clear he covenanted himself to them not because they were morally upright or worthy.
"Do not say in your heart when the Lord your God has driven them out before you, 'Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,'It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your hearts that you are going to possess their land, butin order to confirm the oath which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness...for you are a stubborn people." (Deuteronomy 9:4-6)
When we set Leviticus 18:5 alongside a passage like this it becomes very clear that Leviticus 18 is not advocating life with God on the basis of moral worthiness or the quantity or quality of obedience. Deuteronomy 9 insists it is all God's grace so it makes no sense to understand Leviticus as life on the basis of "law-keeping".
And Leviticus 18:5 only says in different words what Deuteronomy (and many others) say repeatedly. Here are two examples from scores. Deuteronomy 4:1 says, "And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I am teaching you to perform, in order that you may live"
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 says this, "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord's commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you to today for your good."
It is poor biblical interpretation to wrench a text from its grace foundation and call it a text that embodies legalism.
We hear people doing this with New Testament texts and rise immediately to the defence of the New Testament's justification by grace through faith. But one can as easily isolate calls to obedience in the New Testament from their grace setting. In 1 Corinthians 7:19 Paul says, "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God." And in Romans 2:6-7, "[God] who will render to every man according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life"
The Romans 2 text is especially pointed. By perseverance in doing good some seek for glory and honour and immortality. How is it they seek for these things? "By perseverance in doing good." And won't God damn them for seeking glory, honour and immortality by persevering in doing good? No, we're told he rewards every person according to his or her deeds. Instead of branding that as legalism and an attempt to gain life by good works God rewards them according to their deeds.
How will God render to every person?
According to his deeds!
What will he render to some persons?
Eternal life!
To whom will God give (render) eternal life?
To the person who seeks glory, honour and immortality!
How does that person seek glory, honour and immortality?
By patient perseverance in doing good.
If that isn't legalism why must we construe Leviticus 18:5 to be legalism?
Romans 2:6-7 is part of a grace-saturated book. Leviticus 18:5 is part of a grace-saturated Pentateuch.
Whatever else we need to do, we need to revise our view of what Paul says about the Old Testament covenantal torah and we need stop severing glad-hearted obedience from the sheer grace of God.
To protect the honour of God and give glory to him for his grace we completely sever the obedience of faith from the relationship to God without which no one is reconciled or saved. Life, reconciliation or salvation is certainly "gift" but it doesn't exist except as an aspect of a relationship with God.
When we continue to give a specialist meaning to the keeping of God's commands, it generates a reaction in those who over-stress human obedience precisely because it places the human response of faith outside the realm of grace. This inadvertently encourages some people to believe that salvation is indeed by grace+obedience of faith. It "justifies" those who have a tendency to stress what is often called "man's part" of salvation because they see the obedience of faith as completely distinct from grace.
We dichotomise so severely between grace and the obedience of faith that those who over-stress human response believe us! Knowing that salvation is by grace and also knowing that obedience must be forthcoming if life with God is to be enjoyed they conclude that salvation is by grace and works (obedience).
Still, evangelicals insist that Paul did indeed see Leviticus 18:5 as fitly representing salvation by good deeds as opposed to salvation by grace through faith.
But does Paul so interpret Leviticus 18:5?

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

From Gary... The "WHY"

Last night, we were just watching TV and then noticed that our dogs (Buddy and Pal) had fallen asleep AGAIN. Linda said to me: "It seems to me like they sleep almost 24 hours a day".  I agreed, and said:"They go for a walk, eat, drink and SLEEP".  And this picture answers the question- WHY!!!

But, whoever said that LOVE is EASY?  Consider the following...

1 Corinthians, Chapter 13 (WEB)

 4  Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,  5 doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;  6 doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;  7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

It is not EASY to do everything in the list from 1 Corinthians!!! Humm, maybe I need to sleep more than I do???

Any thoughts about this?

From Gary... Bible Reading August 21

Bible Reading  

August 21

The World English Bible

Aug. 21

Job 20-23

Job 20:1 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered,

Job 20:2 "Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, even by reason of my haste that is in me.

Job 20:3 I have heard the reproof which puts me to shame. The spirit of my understanding answers me.

Job 20:4 Don't you know this from old time, since man was placed on earth,

Job 20:5 that the triumphing of the wicked is short, the joy of the godless but for a moment?

Job 20:6 Though his height mount up to the heavens, and his head reach to the clouds,

Job 20:7 yet he shall perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him shall say, 'Where is he?'

Job 20:8 He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found. Yes, he shall be chased away like a vision of the night.

Job 20:9 The eye which saw him shall see him no more, neither shall his place any more see him.

Job 20:10 His children shall seek the favor of the poor. His hands shall give back his wealth.

Job 20:11 His bones are full of his youth, but youth shall lie down with him in the dust.

Job 20:12 "Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hide it under his tongue,

Job 20:13 though he spare it, and will not let it go, but keep it still within his mouth;

Job 20:14 yet his food in his bowels is turned. It is cobra venom within him.

Job 20:15 He has swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again. God will cast them out of his belly.

Job 20:16 He shall suck cobra venom. The viper's tongue shall kill him.

Job 20:17 He shall not look at the rivers, the flowing streams of honey and butter.

Job 20:18 That for which he labored he shall restore, and shall not swallow it down. According to the substance that he has gotten, he shall not rejoice.

Job 20:19 For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor. He has violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up.

Job 20:20 "Because he knew no quietness within him, he shall not save anything of that in which he delights.

Job 20:21 There was nothing left that he didn't devour, therefore his prosperity shall not endure.

Job 20:22 In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress shall overtake him. The hand of everyone who is in misery shall come on him.

Job 20:23 When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath on him. It will rain on him while he is eating.

Job 20:24 He shall flee from the iron weapon. The bronze arrow shall strike him through.

Job 20:25 He draws it forth, and it comes out of his body. Yes, the glittering point comes out of his liver. Terrors are on him.

Job 20:26 All darkness is laid up for his treasures. An unfanned fire shall devour him. It shall consume that which is left in his tent.

Job 20:27 The heavens shall reveal his iniquity. The earth shall rise up against him.

Job 20:28 The increase of his house shall depart. They shall rush away in the day of his wrath.

Job 20:29 This is the portion of a wicked man from God, the heritage appointed to him by God."

Job 21:1 Then Job answered,

Job 21:2 "Listen diligently to my speech. Let this be your consolation.

Job 21:3 Allow me, and I also will speak; After I have spoken, mock on.

Job 21:4 As for me, is my complaint to man? Why shouldn't I be impatient?

Job 21:5 Look at me, and be astonished. Lay your hand on your mouth.

Job 21:6 When I remember, I am troubled. Horror takes hold of my flesh.

Job 21:7 "Why do the wicked live, become old, yes, and grow mighty in power?

Job 21:8 Their child is established with them in their sight, their offspring before their eyes.

Job 21:9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.

Job 21:10 Their bulls breed without fail. Their cows calve, and don't miscarry.

Job 21:11 They send forth their little ones like a flock. Their children dance.

Job 21:12 They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.

Job 21:13 They spend their days in prosperity. In an instant they go down to Sheol.

Job 21:14 They tell God, 'Depart from us, for we don't want to know about your ways.

Job 21:15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What profit should we have, if we pray to him?'

Job 21:16 Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand. The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

Job 21:17 "How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out, that their calamity comes on them, that God distributes sorrows in his anger?

Job 21:18 How often is it that they are as stubble before the wind, as chaff that the storm carries away?

Job 21:19 You say, 'God lays up his iniquity for his children.' Let him recompense it to himself, that he may know it.

Job 21:20 Let his own eyes see his destruction. Let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

Job 21:21 For what does he care for his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off?

Job 21:22 "Shall any teach God knowledge, seeing he judges those who are high?

Job 21:23 One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet.

Job 21:24 His pails are full of milk. The marrow of his bones is moistened.

Job 21:25 Another dies in bitterness of soul, and never tastes of good.

Job 21:26 They lie down alike in the dust. The worm covers them.

Job 21:27 "Behold, I know your thoughts, the devices with which you would wrong me.

Job 21:28 For you say, 'Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?'

Job 21:29 Haven't you asked wayfaring men? Don't you know their evidences,

Job 21:30 that the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity, That they are led forth to the day of wrath?

Job 21:31 Who shall declare his way to his face? Who shall repay him what he has done?

Job 21:32 Yet he will be borne to the grave. Men shall keep watch over the tomb.

Job 21:33 The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him. All men shall draw after him, as there were innumerable before him.

Job 21:34 So how can you comfort me with nonsense, seeing that in your answers there remains only falsehood?"

Job 22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,

Job 22:2 "Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.

Job 22:3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that you are righteous? Or does it benefit him, that you make your ways perfect?

Job 22:4 Is it for your piety that he reproves you, that he enters with you into judgment?

Job 22:5 Isn't your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities.

Job 22:6 For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

Job 22:7 You haven't given water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry.

Job 22:8 But as for the mighty man, he had the earth. The honorable man, he lived in it.

Job 22:9 You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

Job 22:10 Therefore snares are around you. Sudden fear troubles you,

Job 22:11 or darkness, so that you can not see, and floods of waters cover you.

Job 22:12 "Isn't God in the heights of heaven? See the height of the stars, how high they are!

Job 22:13 You say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?

Job 22:14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he doesn't see. He walks on the vault of the sky.'

Job 22:15 Will you keep the old way, which wicked men have trodden,

Job 22:16 who were snatched away before their time, whose foundation was poured out as a stream,

Job 22:17 who said to God, 'Depart from us;' and, 'What can the Almighty do for us?'

Job 22:18 Yet he filled their houses with good things, but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

Job 22:19 The righteous see it, and are glad. The innocent ridicule them,

Job 22:20 saying, 'Surely those who rose up against us are cut off. The fire has consumed the remnant of them.'

Job 22:21 "Acquaint yourself with him, now, and be at peace. Thereby good shall come to you.

Job 22:22 Please receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.

Job 22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up, if you put away unrighteousness far from your tents.

Job 22:24 Lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.

Job 22:25 The Almighty will be your treasure, and precious silver to you.

Job 22:26 For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and shall lift up your face to God.

Job 22:27 You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You shall pay your vows.

Job 22:28 You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you. Light shall shine on your ways.

Job 22:29 When they cast down, you shall say, 'be lifted up.' He will save the humble person.

Job 22:30 He will even deliver him who is not innocent. Yes, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."

Job 23:1 Then Job answered,

Job 23:2 "Even today my complaint is rebellious. His hand is heavy in spite of my groaning.

Job 23:3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! That I might come even to his seat!

Job 23:4 I would set my cause in order before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

Job 23:5 I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would tell me.

Job 23:6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No, but he would listen to me.

Job 23:7 There the upright might reason with him, so I should be delivered forever from my judge.

Job 23:8 "If I go east, he is not there; if west, I can't find him;

Job 23:9 He works to the north, but I can't see him. He turns south, but I can't catch a glimpse of him.

Job 23:10 But he knows the way that I take. When he has tried me, I shall come forth like gold.

Job 23:11 My foot has held fast to his steps. I have kept his way, and not turned aside.

Job 23:12 I haven't gone back from the commandment of his lips. I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

Job 23:13 But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? What his soul desires, even that he does.

Job 23:14 For he performs that which is appointed for me. Many such things are with him.

Job 23:15 Therefore I am terrified at his presence. When I consider, I am afraid of him.

Job 23:16 For God has made my heart faint. The Almighty has terrified me.

Job 23:17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face.

 

Aug. 21

Romans 2

Rom 2:1 Therefore you are without excuse, O man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things.

Rom 2:2 We know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

Rom 2:3 Do you think this, O man who judges those who practice such things, and do the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?

Rom 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Rom 2:5 But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God;

Rom 2:6 who "will pay back to everyone according to their works:"

Rom 2:7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory, honor, and incorruptibility, eternal life;

Rom 2:8 but to those who are self-seeking, and don't obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, will be wrath and indignation,

Rom 2:9 oppression and anguish, on every soul of man who works evil, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 2:10 But glory, honor, and peace go to every man who works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Rom 2:11 For there is no partiality with God.

Rom 2:12 For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without the law. As many as have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Rom 2:13 For it isn't the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified

Rom 2:14 (for when Gentiles who don't have the law do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law, are a law to themselves,

Rom 2:15 in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying with them, and their thoughts among themselves accusing or else excusing them)

Rom 2:16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men, according to my Good News, by Jesus Christ.

Rom 2:17 Indeed you bear the name of a Jew, and rest on the law, and glory in God,

Rom 2:18 and know his will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,

Rom 2:19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide of the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

Rom 2:20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of babies, having in the law the form of knowledge and of the truth.

Rom 2:21 You therefore who teach another, don't you teach yourself? You who preach that a man shouldn't steal, do you steal?

Rom 2:22 You who say a man shouldn't commit adultery. Do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

Rom 2:23 You who glory in the law, through your disobedience of the law do you dishonor God?

Rom 2:24 For "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you," just as it is written.

Rom 2:25 For circumcision indeed profits, if you are a doer of the law, but if you are a transgressor of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

Rom 2:26 If therefore the uncircumcised keep the ordinances of the law, won't his uncircumcision be accounted as circumcision?

Rom 2:27 Won't the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfills the law, judge you, who with the letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the law?

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh;

Rom 2:29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.